1960s Style Pinochle Game

Game nights were a super popular means of entertaining in the 60s. The pinochle craze, a card game of tricks and strategy, was in full-swing. 4 players is ideal or any even number after that.

How to Deal:

1. The game is played with one or two pinochle decks of 48 cards each; one player is the dealer. The deck may or may not be shuffled, particularly after the first round. By not shuffling, groups of cards played as tricks in the previous round are kept together, increasing the chances that a player will have a "heavy" (very favorable) hand, allowing for higher bids.

2. Traditionally, the deal is done clockwise, dealing a packet of three or four cards at a time, starting with the player to the left and ending with the dealer. The deal rotates clockwise, so the dealer's left-hand opponent will deal next.

How to Play:

1, In auction pinochle, players bid for the points they predict their hand could earn. The highest bidder earns the right to declare the trump suit.

2. One of the players, usually the player to the left of the dealer, or the dealer themselves, is obligated to open with a first bid. The size of bids is based on the point scale and number of decks used; traditionally, points are in multiples of 10, thus a minimum opening bid might be agreed to be 100 or 250.

3. When a player has the turn to bid, the player may make a new bid or pass. Each bid must be greater than the previous one, and be a multiple of 10 or 25.

4. When a player passes, they can no longer bid. The auction ends when all subsequent players in rotation have passed after the last bid.

5. The last bid becomes the contract. The player that made this final bid will then declare trump in the suit that is desired.

6. In order for the winning bidder to win the hand, the combined total of melding and trick points must be equal to or greater than the winning bid. Thus bidding involves anticipating the points that will be accumulated from melds and from the points accumulated from winning tricks.

For more tips, rules and styles of pinochle and other popular 1960s card games, Games.com allows you to play practive games for free!